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Long Cleeve
In more prosperous days , the village of Anristanan (S."Long Cloven-vale") was a jumping-off point for travelers from the Twilight Hills heading south into Sîrgala and Cardolan . That trade died off as population and law dwindled in the southern lands . House Peressë , lords of Anristanan , ended in the bloodshed of the Second Northern War . Their keep , on a hill west of the village , was swallowed by the forest ; their claim to the surrounding lands passed back to the Elves . The gypsum mine that had been the other source of the villagers' income could not compete with better ones to the north , so House Tarmear , it s owner , shut it down. In T.A .1630 clans of Stoor and Harfoot Hobbits moved into the vale of Anristanan , renaming it Long Cleeve and buying land-rights from the few Arthadan families still living along the creek . Under the leadership of Fencon Bellager , they reopened the diggings and sent out crews to improve the trails leading into Siragale. Long Cleeve in TA 1640 Within two years , the Hobbits were shipping cartloads of gypsum south , providing the new Shire settlements with the makings of quality wall-plaster and useful ceramics .Lord Tarmeär reacted with alarm ; not only was he being deprived of taxes from his family's old diggings, but the new village stood squarely astride his line of communications with western Sîragala. As a stop-gap measure , Tarmeär peasants moved into the northern end of the valley, obliging the Hobbits to form a common moot to govern the village . Further, Lord Tarmeär had won recognition of his right to a tithe on the output of the mines , even going so far as to claim sovereignty over the entire area . Fencon Bellager, the only leader trusted by all the Hobbits of Long Cleeve , had spent most of the last two years in Fornost campaigning against the Tarmeär claims. Now Tarma warriors have moved into the mannish village of Long Cleeve, intending to enforce their Lord' s dictates . While the Harfoot clans—the Bellages , Alders, and Aspens—press for peaceful resistance, the Stoors have opted to fortify their holes. Kocho Curl , a wild and noisome trapper and herb-gather, is their leader. He almost seems to welcome a confrontation ; nowhere in the Shire is there a greater chance for bloodshed between Men and Hobbits than in Long Cleeve. Long Cleeve about TA 3019 The Shire community with the best access to the Hills of Evendim, Long Cleeve remained a stopover place for travelers from the Utter North all through the Third Age. Most of the furs worn in the Shire bear the name of Long Cleeve merchants, as does much of the ivory,antler, and deer hide. The Northwatch, the shirriffs commissioned to patrol the northern bounds of the Shire, are headquartered in Long Cleeve. They cooperate with the Rangers, the hill-folk living just over the bounds, and routinely carry bows and spear on the job instead of the usual shirriffs staves. The most famous citizen of Long Cleeve in its later history was Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took , hero of the Battle of Greenfields and the founder of the North Tooks of Long Cleeve. Bandobras had often travelled into the wild country in his youth and moved to Long Cleeve to be near his mannish friends and his favorite hunting grounds. Along the way, he amassed a fortune in fur-buying and the trade in exotic stonework and clays. His sixth generation descendants, Falco and Dahlia North-Took, led the Northfarthing resistance to Lotho and his ruffians. Long Cleeve was never occupied by Sharkey's men, and the damage from their raids was negligible. Places of Note *Common Moot *Great Market *Northwatch Headquarter *Old Gypsum Diggings *Old Keep Ruins Inhabitants Mid-third Age: Fencon Bellager Kocho Curl Late Third Age: Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took Diamond Took Boffo North-took Dahlia North-Took Falco North-Took Isumelia North-Took References *MERP:Angmar (2nd Edition) *MERP: The Shire Category:Village Category:Shire Category:Arthedain